Above the fold... News aggregated by EnvironmentalHealthNews.org Daily links to top stories in the news about environmental health. Harlequin toad rediscovery raises hope for deadly fungus survivors. Sightings of a toad thought to be extinct in Costa Rica have led researchers to believe other isolated fragments of Central Americas disappearing amphibians may survive in regions scourged by a deadly fungus. The Guardian bit.ly/1gtqHa2 Ocean research in Canada failed by lack of national strategy and coordination: Report. Canadas failure to adopt a comprehensive national strategy or vision for ocean science is confounding efforts to plan for the future and make efficient use of funding for ocean research, a new national report released Wednesday concludes. Vancouver Sun, British Columbia. bit.ly/1iOHOQp US House panel to review Senate toxic chemical bill. A House subcommittee will take a look at Senate legislation to reform the nation’s widely criticized toxic chemical law next week, in the chamber’s first exploration of the bipartisan bill. The Hill, District of Columbia. bit.ly/1fki2DO NOAA douses fears of Fukushima tsunami debris heading to the US. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has clarified that no island composed of debris from the Fukushima tsunami is heading towards the U.S. coast of California. International Business Times bit.ly/16IKi0s US joins anti-mercury pollution Minamata Convention. The United States signed an anti-mercury pollution treaty Wednesday named after a Japanese city where industrial emissions of the toxic substance caused a poisoning disease affecting thousands of people. The convention was adopted at a U.N. Environment Program-led conference on Oct. 10. Kyodo News, Japan. bit.ly/HL39OP Great Lakes senators unite to urge fast action in carp fight. Asian carp have breached yet another divide - the partisan wall crippling Washington. One day after news broke that Asian carp DNA had been detected for the first time in Wisconsins Lake Michigan waters, all 16 U.S. senators from the Great Lakes sent word that they want fast action. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin. bit.ly/1dPFM2i Election day 2013: Fossil fuels take hits from Virginia to Washington State. Voters on election day 2013 threw their weight behind politicians and policies that limited the use of coal, oil, or natural gas. Bans on fracking, coal exports, and tar sands were on the ballot in a handful of states, and in most cases, election results did not favor fossil fuels. Christian Science Monitor bit.ly/1cG6BsE Nevada mine pollution deal brings residents $19.5M. Rural neighbors of an abandoned World War II-era copper mine that has leaked toxic chemicals in northern Nevada for decades have won up to a $19.5 million settlement from companies they accused of covering up the contamination. Associated Press bit.ly/1cFWJ1S Water near Lac-Mégantic tainted, groups warn. Parts of the Chaudière River remain contaminated despite weeks of cleanup operations and the removal of nearly 43 million litres of oily water from the river. But Quebec Environment Minister Yves-François Blanchet said there is no threat to people living in Lac-Mègantic or along the river. Montreal Gazette, Quebec. bit.ly/HL1YyR Nigeria oil firms deflect blame for spills, says Amnesty. Amnesty International has accused major oil companies, including Shell, of failing to report the true picture of oil spills in Nigeria. BBC bbc.in/1eo6qC5 China’s Soviet-style suburbia heralds environmental pain. What the U.S. did in the 1950s with 160 million people, China is doing now with more than a billion - moving to suburbia. Chinese commuters have to drive back to the city for basic services, boosting energy consumption and emissions that have made the nation’s cities some of the most polluted in the world. Bloomberg News bloom.bg/1hlu1Wi Greenhouse gases have soared to record levels. The amount of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2012, with rapid growth in both carbon dioxide and methane concentrations, according to a new report released Wednesday by the World Meteorological Organization. Climate Central bit.ly/19Gnfok In Venice, environmentalists tally rare win over tourism. The Italian government announced that it is banning 96,000-plus-ton cruise ships from Venices canals, and reducing the number of 40,000-plus-ton ships by 20 percent. Christian Science Monitor bit.ly/17ON1X8 Pollution pushes Shanghai towards reproductive health crisis. Shanghai is facing a reproductive health crisis with experts labeling pollution as one of the “major culprits” for the mega-city’s increasingly dismal sperm quality, Chinese media have reported. The Telegraph, United Kingdom. bit.ly/17OXMJ1 Cancer risk no greater in IVF children, study shows. Babies born as a result of fertility treatment are at no higher risk of developing cancer than other children, according to the largest study of its kind. The Guardian bit.ly/1a9vAjz Vancouver edges out Los Angeles for worst traffic congestion in North America. The 2013 TomTom Travel Index released Wednesday shows the Vancouver region has edged out Los Angeles by one percent for the No. 1 congested city. It claims that Vancouver travel times were 36 per cent longer at peak hours than during non-rush hours. Vancouver Sun, British Columbia. bit.ly/1a9FJwG Cleaner air helps Chesapeake Bay, study finds. Nitrogen pollution in nine mostly forested rivers and streams in the Appalachian reaches of the Chesapeake Bay watershed has declined in tandem with government-mandated air pollution reductions for power plants and motor vehicles, according to researchers. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. bsun.md/1hlv3Bq Cook with a gas stove? You could be breathing polluted air, study says. A big polluter could be blazing inside your kitchen, its blue flames glowing under your tea kettle or frying pan. A new study says cooking with a gas stove can expose you to unhealthy levels of air pollution. Los Angeles Times [Registration Required] lat.ms/189HuXC How Texas voted on Prop 6; what it could mean for the water plan. Texas Proposition 6, which will start a fund for water projects, won approval from over 73 percent of the state. But as poll watchers began digging into the turnout, competing versions of what those numbers mean for the future of water in Texas began to take shape. StateImpact Texas, Texas. n.pr/1eo9hep Malibu High, Juan Cabrillo tested for PCBs and radon. The Malibu High School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School campuses were tested for environmental contaminants over the weekend, nearly a month after some teachers complained the middle school campus could be causing them health problems. Malibu Times, California. bit.ly/19GupsI Shunned at home, Fukushima fruit farmers turn to Southeast Asia for turnaround. Over three decades of serious efforts and promotion, Fukushima Prefecture became a “kingdom” of fruit farming. But all that changed after March 11, 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami caused the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Asahi Shimbun, Japan. bit.ly/16IGHPV
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 14:41:23 +0000